JOIN USI will go and play positive, says Rohan
The 24-year-old ground it out over four rounds of qualifying matches to make it to the main draw at the KBA courts on Wednesday. However, the Bangalorean has a huge task on hand as he runs into top seed P Kashyap of PSPB in the first round proper on Thursday.
“I had beaten Kashyap before my illness during the 2006 National Championship in Patna and on other two occasions also,” Castelino said.
“This is the first tournament after my comeback, so I didn’t have that much match practice. I will go out and play positive badminton and hope for a good result,” added Castelino.
Illness and injuries forced Castelino away from the badminton courts when the Karnataka lad was in full bloom. The former Junior (Guntur, 2002) and Sub-junior (Mandya 2000) national champion was struck down by jaundice and typhoid during August 2007.
“I was affected by hepatitis A and E. But my situation turned worse when I contracted typhoid thrice. It took me a long time to recover from that.
“I started training in August 2008 but my body was not fully fit to take the load. During this time I was injured too, and my shoulder in particular was quite weak,” Castelino recollected.
A quarterfinalist at the World Junior championship in 2002 at Pretoria, he also entered the semifinals of the National championship in 2006.